International Ramen Chain From Hokkaido

An international restaurant chain, Hokkaido Ramen Santouka was established in 1988 in Asahikawa, Hokkaido. In that vein, the restaurant has a distinctly Japanese feel, down to the display of dishes at the entrance and an open kitchen.

Cooking standards at the restaurant are strictly maintained to be exactly the same as the other Ramen Santouka restaurants around the world. And the secret of their success lies in their tasty soup base, for which pork bones are simmered for 20 hours before the other flavouring ingredients are added. All the ramen dishes here are topped with cha shu pork which is slow braised, unlike the barbecued chinese Char Siew.

I'm a huge fan of ramen, although I've yet to taste the real thing in Japan. But luckily for us there are several Ramen joints that have come all the way from Japan and Hokkaido Ramen Santouka was one of them.

Locared in Pavilion KL Level 6, this place is always very busy. Though the night we visited we managed to get a table pretty quickly as it was near closing time. After looking through the menu. I've picked a small bowl of Miso Charshu Ramen and some Gyoza.

The noodles arrived pretty quickly. The first thing that attracted me was the 3 succulent pieces of Charshu, followed by the thick and creamy looking soup. On first sip though, I've discovered that the broth had so much salt in, it's almost impossible to sip. Though I heard that the Japanese don't actually drink the soup, so they actually do make the broth quite salty. But this much?

Moving on. The noodles were lovely though, thick, bouncy with a bite. I also loved the bamboo shoot. The Charshu unfortunately has the same problem as the broth. And that's not really forgivable. I could only manage 2 pieces before giving up. I felt like I had about a week's worth of salt and my blood pressure was shooting up!

No complaints about the Gyoza though, although it's still slightly on the salty side. Good bit of fillings and the skin was crispy at the bottom.

I've given my feedback to the staff and she said to ask specifically to reduce the salt next time. I'm not sure if there will be a next time. There are other ramen places with better offerings.

This place is a good representation of what real ramen outside of Japan should taste like. It is rather expensive compared to my favourite ramen in a neighbouring building. The soup and flavours are rich and thick. They give you a choice of ordering small, medium or large portions with the ramen bowls. A small bowl fetches you 100gm of ramen + 1 slice of pork; medium bowl is 125gm of ramen + 2 slices of pork; and large bowl is 150gm of ramen + 2 slices of pork. This place is very porky, if that is what you like, you can definitely taste it in the soup.
Everything else I have tried on the menu so far are not bad, I have not completed the list yet and often I am full after a bowl of ramen, with little room left for anything else. At most I managed some gyozas which were nicely done.

The atmosphere is busy and there is almost always a queue during conventional meal times. Just judging by the number of Japanese diners they attract is a strong measuring yard for its' existence. I don't mind paying extra for my ramen once in a while, if I happen to be in Pavilion's Tokyo Street. What is best about the location is that, you will be surrounded by Japanese shops and imported goods. I often cross to the grocery shop and get myself a monaka (wafer ice cream) for dessert, then carry on to Daiso to have a shopping urge met at RM5.